Ukraine faces energy shutdowns as Russian attacks target infrastructure
- All but three regions of Ukraine implemented the shutdowns.
- Ukraine’s air force announced that it had shot down all 25 drones launched overnight.
- Russia claimed control of the village of Umanske in the partially Russian-occupied Donetsk region.
On Sunday, Ukraine imposed emergency power shutdowns in most of the country following large-scale attacks on energy infrastructure unleashed by Russia. Russia also claimed to have made gains in the eastern Donetsk province.
After at least 19 people were injured in Saturday’s drone and missile attack on energy targets, the shutdowns were implemented in all but three regions of Ukraine. Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator, stated that the shutdowns affected both industrial and household consumers.
Recent weeks have seen sustained Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, prompting the government to implement nationwide rolling blackouts. However, without adequate air defenses to counter assaults and facilitate repairs, the shortages could worsen as demand spikes during late summer and the bitterly cold winter.
Among the most significant recent strikes were a barrage in April that damaged Kyiv’s largest thermal power plant and a massive attack on May 8 that targeted power generation and transmission facilities in several regions.
Following Saturday’s barrage, Ukraine’s air force announced on Sunday that air defenses had shot down all 25 drones launched overnight. On Sunday, Russia claimed to have taken control of the village of Umanske in the partially Russian-occupied Donetsk region.
Russia’s coordinated new offensive has centered on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region but appears to include testing Ukrainian defenses in Donetsk farther south, while also launching incursions in the northern Sumy and Chernihiv regions.
On Sunday, Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov stated that six people had been injured in shelling in the city of Shebekino in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine. He also reported that the “detonation of ammunition” had killed a local official, the deputy head of the Korochansky district, providing no further details.
Acting regional head Alexey Smirnov reported on Sunday that three people were injured in the neighboring Kursk region when an explosive device was dropped from a drone. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused China on Sunday of helping Russia to disrupt an upcoming Swiss-organized peace conference on the war in Ukraine while speaking at Asia’s premier security conference in Singapore.
